Specific Learning Outcomes
Marla Yi Donoy Walters
PPS 6010
March 3, 2011
Topic
“Demonstrate through discussion and writing knowledge of factors that impede or limit pupil development including stereotyping, socioeconomic status, inadequate language development, negative school climate, and discrimination.”
So, we can all agree… (I’m assuming)
Stereotyping students = bad
Discriminating against students = bad
Negative school climate = bad
Lower socioeconomic status = typically lower academic achievement
Inadequate language development = EL students have 5x higher dropout rate
Definitions
A stereotype is an exaggerated belief, image or distorted truth about a person or group
A generalization based on images in mass media, or reputations passed on by parents, peers and other members of society. Stereotypes can be positive or negative.
A prejudice is an opinion, prejudgment or attitude about a group or its individual members. A prejudice can be positive, but in our usage refers to a negative attitude.
Prejudice is often aimed at "out-groups."Discrimination is behavior that treats people unequally because of their group memberships.
Discriminatory behavior, ranging from slights to hate crimes, often begins with negative stereotypes and prejudices.
But what if…
Educators do not discriminate or stereotype students, but instead students stereotype themselves
This is called “Stereotype Threat”As a result, their performance decreases
Stereotype Threat
Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group
First developed by social psychologist Claude Steele (1995).
Basically: a self-fulfilling prophesy
Caucasian Stereotypes
Can’t danceLess athletic than other ethnicities
“White men can’t jump”
Dumb blonde jokesRedneckPlastic surgery/BotoxScore higher on academic tests than other minorities, except Asians
African-American Stereotypes
Poor
Lazy
Criminals
Very religious
Athletic
Score less than Whites on academic tests
Asian-Americans Stereotypes
Bad drivers
High achievers in math and science
Geeks/NerdsLong Duk Dong from 16 Candles
Data from The Goonies
Submissive women
Small masculinity
“Rice Rockets”
Hispanic/Latino Stereotypes
Illegal immigrants
Many children
Cholos/Gangs
Bad tempers
Low-wage jobs
Score less than Whites on academic tests
Stereotype Threat Research
Recent research shows that students’ knowledge of stereotype-based negative expectations about their test performance can depress their actual performance
If a student is aware of their culture’s negative stereotypes and the expectations of those stereotypes, it can actually decrease their test performance.
Stereotype Threat Research
One study conducted found that Caucasian men performed poorly compared to African-American men in a miniature golf task when the task was presented as a test of natural athletic ability
When the task was presented as a test of “sporting intelligence,” performance by African American suffered compared to Caucasian men.
More Research…
Stereotype: females perform worse than males in math
College women performed worse than their male counterparts when completing a very difficult math test
This difference was eliminated when the test was presented as not showing gender differences
How it works
Awareness of these negative stereotypes may produce distracting thoughts about confirming group stereotypes, and these anxieties, in turn, may lead to the very failure that is feared
When do people experience Stereotype Threat?
Designating a test as diagnostic of intellectual ability
When told a test was diagnostic of verbal ability, Black students scored a full standard deviation lower than Whites.When the same test was presented as nondiagnostic of ability, the Black and White students performed equally well (Steele & Aronson, 1995)
Bringing attention to students’ ethnicities prior to testing
A performance difference was found when students had to specify their race on a demographics form before testing, even when the test was presented as nondiagnostic of ability
Why does stereotype threat occur in students?
Anxiety/physiological arousal
Blood pressure
Heart rate
Intrusive thoughtsIntrusive worries about fulfilling the group stereotype or being judged according to it
Vicious cycle
Decrease performanceNegative thinking
What determines strength of stereotype threats?
Test characteristics (real or purported)More difficult tests produce greater stereotype threat effectsStereotyped groups show decreased performance when a test is presented as showing intergroup score differences or diagnostic of ability
Beliefs about intelligenceWhen 7th grade female students were told intelligence is due to effort and not inherent, they did better on math tests than girls in the control group and performed as well as the boys in their class.
What determines strength of stereotype threats?
Concerns about stereotypic evaluations by others
In situations where the evaluator is vague about performance criteria, stereotype threat effects increased in studentsIf performance criteria were specifically delineated, it helped to reduce stereotype threat effects
Social identity salienceThe more that a testing environment promoted awareness of one’s social identity, the more performance decreased.
Study: Women completed a math test in a room with 0, 1, or 2 other women and several men.
– Women performed best on the math test when they had two other females in the room, and performed worst when they were the only woman in a room with several men.
How to reduce stereotype threat in students
Let students know that challenging but attainable standards are present
More relevant in lower grades, before students are aware they can judge their own competencies accurately
Let them know importance of high expectations
Makes the general point that students who think others expect them to do poorly are more likely going to perform worse
How to reduce stereotype threat in students
Give age-appropriate information about the nature of the assessment instruments and the reliable objectives with which they will be scoredAssure students that scorers of tests will not have access to students’ demographic characteristicsLong term goal: lobby for test developers to move demographic information to the end of examinations (SAT, GRE, etc)
How does this pertain to us as School Psychologists
Do not inadvertently induce stereotype threat effects by asking questions about topics related to a student’s demographic group (eg: music preferences)
Don’t ask demographic questions
Ability/Achievement measures should be placed at the beginning of assessments, before less formal self-report activities (clinical interview, family background, current home environment, self-perceptions of academic functioning)
Achievement/ability tests firsts, self-report second
How does this pertain to us as School Psychologists
Do not describe tests as diagnostic of intellectual ability
Don’t say it is a test of intellectual ability
Consider the possibility of stereotype threat effects when interpreting scores of vulnerable group members.
Keep in mind that students may still have stereotype threat effects
Discussion
How did you feel when I listed the stereotypes?
Have you ever felt the (intrinsic) pressure to try to break your ethnicity/culture’s stereotype?
References
http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.pitts/stereotype_threat_Jordan, A.H., Lovett, B.J.,(2007). Stereotype threat and test performance: A primer for school psychologists. Journal of School Psychology, 45, 45-59.